


The House of the Dead: Zootopia

by LapisLucius42



Category: The House of the Dead (Video Games), Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crossover, Science Experiments, Zombies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:55:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26787817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LapisLucius42/pseuds/LapisLucius42
Summary: Their last assignment before Christmas break. They had no idea they were entering a house that feeds on their fears. While they aren't going in alone, it matters not to what awaits them inside.
Kudos: 3





	1. Tragedy

**Author's Note:**

> This was needed so I can progress with my other stories. Luckily it will be have the same number of chapters as the first game.

December 18

A lone police cruiser rode to its destination: a mansion situated on the border between the Rainforest District and Downtown, built in the early days of Zootopia. When the district borders were drawn, the property owners and the city agreed that the building could remain in its current location while still abiding city regulations. Recently, a wealthy pig family, the Swintons, took ownership of the mansion after the original owner passed.

“I’m telling you,” Nick said. “The owners and the city go way back for this to happen.”

“Oh? You don’t think they have any connections to the mobs?” Judy inquired.

“Carrots, the place partially resides in Downtown where it’s too close to the right authorities.”

Judy could only shake her head and quickly shut down that discussion. “While I love to debate this, we have more pressing matters. Like that call that came from the mansion.”

“You think Chief Buffalo Butt would send more than us for a cut off frantic call for help."

“He has reinforcements from our Precinct and the Rainforest District on standby. They’re waiting for our signal.”

The cruiser continued up the road until the mansion was in sight. The sky was cloudy due to one of the scheduled rains, and there was a light mist as a result. Upon crossing onto the property, a large wall with spikes on the top surrounded the area, blocking the officers’ view of the mansion. This forced the officers to drive around in search of the entrance.

“This is giving off medieval vibes.” Nick remarked.

“Maybe the previous owners liked the style, and the Swintons are respecting their last wishes not to change it.”

“Or it costs too much to renovate the entire thing.”

“That’s possible.”

They followed the wall for a few minutes before finally discovering an entrance. The police cruiser parked at the opening, and Judy notified Bogo of their arrival.

“This is Unit 275. We arrived at our destination and are moving to investigate.”

Bogo responded a few moments later. “Roger that Hopps. Keep us posted.”

The officers took a moment to turn on their body cameras and put on their raincoats before exiting the cruiser. The moment they opened the doors, a cry emanated from the other side.

“Oh no!”

Alarmed, the officers charged in with their tranquilizers drawn. Around the corner, they discovered a horrifying sight. A beaver ran on all fours for the exit, but their attention was on two mammals before them. A panther held an otter in its grip. The latter let out a cry of pain as the panther bit into its neck.

The officers watched in horror and disgust as the panther dropped the otter and turned its sight on them, mouth covered in blood and bits of flesh visible. Its eyes were completely blank and devoid of life. It’s body appeared to be deteriorating with some parts exposed. The sequence brought back terrible memories of the night Manchas went savage, only this time, the circumstances were direr.

The bloodied panther groaned and started stumbling towards Nick and Judy. This was enough to shock the officers out of their stupor and raise their tranquilizers.

“Freeze, or we will shoot!” Judy ordered.

But the panther continued in their direction, and it appeared to increase its speed. Nick and Judy took a step back and kept their tranquilizers on the mammal.

“I said, don’t move!” Judy warned.

The groaning panther didn’t stop, and the officers continued to move back towards the entrance.

“This is your last warning!”

“No response, Carrots! We’ll have to take him down.”

Judy let out a frustrated sigh from the failure at talks, but their lives were in immediate danger.

Just when the mammal came in reach and tried to make a swipe, the officers jumped back and fired, hitting the panther’s chest and causing the predator to halt. Nick and Judy stood cautiously and waited for the tranquilizer to take effect. But then a moment later, the panther began walking towards the officers as if nothing happened. They gasped in horror and tried again, but even four shots did not affect the predator.

“Uh, Carrots?! Tranqs aren’t working!”

Judy quickly reached for her utility belt. “Tasers then!”

The officers replaced their weapons and aimed the tasers at the panther. They set the voltage low, knowing a higher voltage could be fatal with the amount of does in the mammal. Nick and Judy reluctantly moved in range and fired. The needles hit their mark, and the officers squeezed the trigger. To their horror, the panther appeared unfazed despite parts of the body convulsing from the voltage.

They decided to risk increasing the power in the hopes of finally bringing down the mammal. Despite the number of doses and voltage, the panther harmlessly continued to pursue the officers. Nick and Judy had to relinquish the tasers because the panther came in range and nearly swiped at them again. The weapons fell helplessly to the floor and were dragged by the predator.

“Great!” Nick yelled. “What do we do now?”

Judy knew the only other option, and she was hesitant to implement it. But everything else had failed, and they were running out of time. “We got to use lethal.”

The ZPD always kept lethal in their cruisers as a last resort when faced with hostiles with thick armor. And right now, the officers encountered a mammal that seems to be impervious to less lethal methods. After Judy gave the order, she and Nick scrambled back to their cruiser and slammed the doors shut for protection. Judy reached for the center console and nearly tore the lid off opening it while Nick watched for the panther.

In the center console were their service pistols and several magazines. Their paws knocked into each other as they went to grab the items. A few moments of arguing later, Nick and Judy had their pistols loaded and rushed back to the entrance, just in time to see that the mammal had closed the distance. The officers got into their stances, aiming the pistols at the approaching panther.

“Last chance!” Judy cried. “Stop where you are, or we will fire!”

The panther only responded with a groan and did not obey the officers.

“Okay buddy, you asked for it!” Nick said.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Nick and Judy implemented synchronized shooting since their target doubled their size. Their eyes widened in horror because, while the shots hit their mark and the mammal began bleeding profusely, it was still alive.

“How is he surviving all that?” Nick cried.

“I don’t know! Just keep shooting!”

Nothing else mattered except neutralizing the threat. The bullets eventually blew both arms off. Seeing that only the head remained undamaged and knowing the mammal had zero chance of survival at this point, Nick and Judy realized what they needed to do.

They fired their remaining bullets at the head until it too exploded from the projectiles. What remained of the panther suddenly came to a standstill. Nick and Judy started to wonder if the legs were going to move on their own. But their answer came when the legs fell to the knees and fell backwards.

The sounds of clicking could be heard from the officers despite the threat neutralized and the pistols empty, in shock at what just transpired. Only the sound of another groan snapped the officers snapped out of their daze. Worried that it was another threat, Nick and Judy searched around the immediate area before realizing that the noise was coming from the wounded otter.

“Nick, call for an ambulance!” Judy rushed over to assess and treat the injuries.

“On it!” The fox sprinted back to their cruiser.

When Judy inspected the otter, the predator lay motionless. The rabbit carefully shook the mammal, trying to stir him awake. “Hang on! Help is on the way!”

Another groan came from the mammal as he turned his head. The rabbit nearly threw up from seeing the neck wound and the bleeding. “It’s too late for me…”

The words shook Judy out of her stupor. “No, it’s not!” She tried applying pressure to the wound, desperately wanting to save the mammal.

“Others are still inside…save them…” The otter then closed his eyes and went limp.

Refusing to give up hope, Judy placed her ears on the body for any signs of life, but she could not detect a heartbeat. “No! Stay with us!” She pleaded as tears started to form in her eyes.

“He’s gone Carrots.” Judy turned to see a solemn Nick standing next to her. “Nothing we can do for him now. You heard what he said. We need to rescue the others.” The fox gave Judy the rest of the pistol ammo. “I called for backup. They’ll be here in ten minutes.”

Judy slowly nodded and wiped away the tears. The rabbit stood up, and she and Nick reloaded their pistols. It only dawned on them that the otter wasn’t the only victim. Another rabbit and a gopher lay dead in their pool of blood. The officers noticed that all three, including the beaver, wore what appeared to be lab attire. The mammals must have been researchers.

The two started to ponder their next actions, wondering the severity of the situation, when their ears perked up from another cry.

“Help! Help!”

Nick and Judy turned in the direction and saw that it came from around the corners. They sprinted, hoping to avoid the fatal encounter with the otter, and discovered a jackal and a sheep being chased by an ibex and a buck deer. The officers became horrified at not only the horned mammals having the same conditions but also wielding axes in their hooves.

Now armed with the knowledge of the threats, Nick and Judy shot at the attackers, careful not to accidentally hit the researchers. This time, the officers were successful, but before they could question the researchers, two horses attacked. The jackal and the sheep quickly thanked the officers and reminded them of more inside before running off. Once out of their line of sight, the officers promptly dispatched the creatures.

“Up ahead!” Judy ran forward when Nick grabbed her shoulder. The rabbit became angry at him. “What are you doing?!”

“Are you crazy? The place is crawling with these things, and we don’t have enough firepower! We need to wait for backup!”

“I’m not going to let innocent mammals die because we were waiting around and doing nothing! If you want to wait for backup, be my guest!”

Judy wrestled herself free from his grip and proceeded ahead, leaving an exasperated Nick behind. The fox let out a loud groan and quickly followed, muttering dumb bunny under his breath.

Up ahead, Judy saw a badger lying near the fountain, appearing unharmed but unconscious. Before she could investigate, two growls came from the side, and the rabbit turned to see two canine creatures hop over the stone wall. The sight of seeing bat wings on the canines and their quadruped stance made Judy pause. What are these things?!

Nick caught up just in time to see the scene play out. “Judy!” He fired at the canines and gave his partner enough time to respond. The two canines let out a dying growl as they fell to the ground.

Before Judy could thank her partner, Nick pointed behind her and screamed. “Behind you!”

She turned around to see a third winged canine, ready to attack. On instinct, she fired the rest of her clip into the creature. Nick caught up to Judy, and they took a moment to switch magazines.

“Thanks, Slick.”

“You’re welcome, Fluff. Wouldn’t do any good leaving you to die.”

Judy rolled her eyes. “Har. Har.”

The officers approached the badger near the fountain, and Judy went to check on the mammal while Nick stood guard for any more creatures. The fox grimaced at the sight of a goat and a ram laying in pools of blood.

The rabbit knelt by the mammal and saw the badger was female. She carefully shook her with one paw. “Ma’am. Are you alright?”

A groan came from the badger, and she slowly stirred. Her eyes opened to the sight of police officers. A look of relief and joy overcame her. Judy carefully moved the badger into a sitting position against the fountain.

“Thank you for coming!”

Judy smiled and nodded, happy that they rescued another mammal. Knowing her condition, the badger could not move on her own to the exit. The rabbit stood up and carefully helped the badger up. As she put an arm around her, a loud cry came from Nick.

“Look out!”

The ladies looked at the fox and saw him pointing above them. All of a sudden, Judy felt a strong force push her towards Nick and heard a shriek emanated from above. The rabbit rolled onto her back and recovered in time to see a horrifying sight. A large bat-like creature was flying above them. But while having the typical wings and eyes, this bat creature was many times the normal size. Judy then finally noticed that the badger was now in the bat’s grip.

The creature emitted a small laugh. “Nobody leaves here alive!” The bat then proceeded to fly away with its hostage.

“Get back here!” Angered, Judy raised her pistol, ready to fire, until Nick seized her arms.

“Don’t waste your bullets. We’ll get him.”

Judy let out a frustrated sigh and reluctantly lowered her weapon but still staring off in the direction in which the badger was taken. Just then, her ears picked up the sound of bubbles coming from the fountain, and she looked down to investigate. Moments later, a green creature emerged from the waters and leaped into the air.

“Nick, watch out!”

The fox had no time to react as the green creature pounced on him, and they both landed on the ground. The attack caused Nick to lose possession of his pistol. As he struggled to remove the creature with his paws, it sunk its teeth into the fox’s shoulder, causing him to shriek in pain.

“Get it off me! Get it off me!”

Judy was on her partner in an instant but faced fierce resistance from the creature and her partner. She finally managed to wrestle control by placing one foot on Nick to hold him down. She then grabbed the creature’s neck with one paw and placed the pistol to its head with the other.

“Cover your ears!”

Nick obeyed and closed his eyes as Judy followed suit and pulled the trigger twice.

Bang! Bang!

The sound of gunfire and a mushy explosion rang out. The green creature went limp, allowing Nick to push it off. The fox slowly got up while grabbing his injured area and picked up his weapon.

Judy gasped when seeing the extent of the damage, and her eyes began to tear up. “Nick, I’m sorry! I should have been quicker!” The rabbit scrambled to find something to patch the wound, debating if she should tear part of her uniform off to make a bandage.

Her partner could only give a weak smile. “It’s alright, Judy.”

“No! No!”

They turned in the direction of the cries to see a tiger carrying a deer. However, the two were on a bridge, and it appeared that the tiger wanted to throw the deer over.

“Save him! I’ll catch up!” Nick cried.

Judy nodded and used the fountain as a boost, jumping off the ledge and flipping in the air to give her more distance. She landed on her feet, a few steps away from the bridge. The rabbit got into her stance and fired.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The tiger’s head blew apart, dropping the deer in the process. Judy rushed to the mammal’s aid as Nick ran up to the two, still clutching his arm.

“You’re safe now!” Judy exclaimed. “Are you hurt?”

The deer got up and checked himself for any injuries. Finding none, he smiled at the officers. “Thank you!” His joy then turned to shock at seeing Nick’s injury. “You’re hurt!” He then reached into his lab coat, searching for something.

Nick waved dismissively with his good arm. “It’s only a flesh wound. I can still fight.”

The deer ignored the fox and brought out a small medical kit. “Take this. You need it more than I do.”

While thankful for the assistance, Nick wondered why the researcher had the item. “You all carry one?”

The deer nodded. “Our work is dangerous, so we keep an emergency kit until proper treatment can be administered.”

Nick nodded and fixed his injury. The kit contained a vial of medicine and a roll of bandages. The fox promptly injected himself with the vial, feeling the pain slowly disappear.

“Thank you for the assistance,” Judy said. “Get yourself to safety now. We cleared out most of the path to the exit.” While the rabbit wanted to ask more questions, she would have plenty of time once the survivors were rescued.

The deer nodded and ran for the entrance. Around the same time, Nick finished patching himself up, standing up and letting out a sigh of relief as he flexed the injured shoulder.

“Much better.”

“Can you still shoot?”

Nick peered over the rabbit, noticing something behind her. “Only one way to find out.”

Judy turned around, and she and Nick saw a pierced body in the middle of the bridge. Worm-like creatures feasted on the body.

Nick moved in closer and then aimed his pistol at the parasites with both paws. He managed to kill them with only minor difficulty. His eyes then caught sight of a goat standing at the mansion doors. The creature did the same and proceeded to raise its arms, revealing an axe in each of them. Nick realized the imminent danger and fired his pistol. The goat lost its head as the rest of the body fell to the ground, and the axes came loose.

“That was close,” Nick rotated his bandaged shoulder. “Meds work like a charm.”

“Alright, let’s move.” Judy proceeded to cross the bridge.

“Wait!!” Nick followed after her and stopped the rabbit at the top of the stairs.

Judy was about to test the doors when she felt Nick’s paw on her shoulder. The rabbit turned to give her partner an indignant look. “What?! You know there are mammals inside!”

“Can we at least make a plan before charging in? We don’t have enough bullets to kill every creature and rescue the mammals. Let’s ask Bogo for his ETA before we do anything else. Please?”

Judy let out a heavy sigh and relaxed, still upset at them wasting time and putting mammals in grave danger. “You’re right.” She reached for her radio. “This is Officer Hopps, what’s the ETA of our backup?”

Bogo came on almost immediately. “We’re five minutes out.”

Judy keyed the radio again, nearly crushing it in her grip. “No good sir! Mammals are dying. We’re pushing forward until you arrive.”

“Hopps, no!”

Judy paid no attention as she placed the radio back and prepared to enter the mansion. Nick sighed as he checked his ammo.

“Help!”

The cry ended any attempts for further conversation, causing Judy to back up from the doors. Nick knew what would transpire next and quickly stepped to the side. He watched as Judy charged forward and leaped in the air with her feet facing forward. The doors nearly broke under the force of rabbit feet, but they would debate over the damages later.

The officers saw a red panda hanging off the second-floor rail and about to be attacked by two sloth-like creatures. They also heard growls coming from their right and turned to see three wolves stepping towards them.

“Get the wolves by the stairs! I’ll save the scientist!” Judy ordered.

“Got it!”

Judy dashed for the stairs and up to the second floor. She focused on the attacking sloths, firing a couple of shots while being careful to avoid hitting the red panda. Upon hearing the shots, the red panda closed her eyes and held on tight, not daring to open them. Something then grabbed her paws, and she began to cry. The red panda thought this was the end until she suddenly felt herself pulled up. Meanwhile, Nick leaped back and fired at the three approaching wolves. 

Once safely on the second floor, the red panda wrapped Judy in a tight hug while in tears. “Thank you!”

As much as she wanted to comfort the mammal, the rabbit understood this was neither the time nor place. “You’re welcome. Now get out of here. The medics will be at the exit to treat you.”

The red panda broke from the hug and wiped her tears. “Okay.” The two descended the stairs together and split from there. The red panda proceeded out of the mansion while Judy reunited with her partner.

“All clear Nick?”

“I’m clear,” Nick observed the dead sloths that fell from the second floor. “They moved awfully fast. If they weren’t trying to kill us, I would ask the scientists how this was possible.”

“Between that and the winged canines, I’d rather not find out.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the sounds of wood breaking. The officer looked in that direction and saw axes penetrating through the doors. Then, they were kicked down, revealing another goat wielding axes. On instinct, Nick and Judy fired at the head and killed the creature before it could attack.

“Not to mention that they can use weapons too.” Nick remarked.

“Please let it be only axes!”

The rabbit proceeded through the damaged doors with her partner following behind. The officers entered a hallway and carefully walked, ready for a possible ambush. A couple of steps in, the path before them suddenly collapsed. The officers reacted in time before they fell through the hole.

“Okay, we’re not heading that way.” Nick remarked.

They turned around to go back when two sloths crashed through the window. Nick managed to avoid one, but the other landed on Judy. Unfortunately, the way the sloth landed pinned her feet underneath the body, leaving only her arms free.

“Judy!” He quickly dispatched his threat before assisting Judy. “Cover your ears!” The rabbit forced the ears behind her head with her paws as Nick grabbed the sloth’s neck. Two shots to the head and the creature was dead.

The fox pushed the corpse off and gasped. “Carrots, your shoulder…”

“I know…” Judy got up and checked the wound. “We need to find a scientist for their med kit.”

Nick couldn’t resist a smirk and a sarcastic comment, wanting to lighten the situation. “For shame Fluff, rescuing for your own benefit.”

Judy rolled her eyes. “Shut up.” The rabbit looked ahead and then back. “We can’t go forward, and we can’t go back.” She turned her attention to the nearest door. “Let’s try that way.”

Nick nodded and approached the door. The two stood at opposite ends, and Judy gave the signal. With one arm on the knob, Nick carefully opened the door, keeping his gun pointed forward and checking for any creatures. While he couldn’t see anything, he did hear more cries.

“Help!”

The officers charged in and looked around for the source. Turning to their left, the two gasped. At the other end, a male raccoon and a female skunk were locked behind a gate. Adding to the danger was an axe-wielding goat locked with them.

Nick ran to their rescue. “Hold on! We’ll get you out!” The fox stopped at the gate and raised his gun, deciding to eliminate the threat before rescuing the scientists. “Get down!” The mammals immediately fell to the floor with the paws behind their heads. Nick safely killed the goat with two shots to the head.

“Clear!”

The two scientists lifted their heads and looked back to see the headless goat on the floor. They breathed a sigh of relief and stood up.

“Thank you! Now get us out!” The skunk cried.

“Hold on.” Nick saw a padlock next to the gate. “Do you know the code?”

The two shook their heads.

“Alright then, there’s only one option.” Nick took a few steps back and raised his pistol at the padlock. He fired three shots, and the machine exploded, freeing the scientists.

They burst into tears and rushed forward to Nick, enveloping the fox and a hug. Judy managed to arrive on the scene despite her injury.

“Oh thank you! Thank you!” The raccoon blurted. “I thought we were dead!”

When the skunk broke from the hug, she saw Judy’s injury and promptly reached into her lab coat. The rabbit knew what she was doing. “Here, take this.”

The rabbit accepted the medical kit. “Thank you. The police and ambulance will be here soon. It should be safe for now if you hurry.”

The two civilians proceeded with their escape.

“Heal yourself Carrots,” Nick said. “I’ll keep watch.”

His partner wasted no time patching up her wound. Judy let out a sigh of relief when feeling her strength return. “Much better.”

“We need to be more careful unless you want to start looting medical kits from dead civilians.”

The rabbit sent a death glare at the fox. “Absolutely not!”

But before she could respond further, a chainsaw rang through the room. The officers turned in the direction of the sound to see a polar bear pacing to them while wielding a chainsaw.

“Oh you gotta be kidding me!” Nick exclaimed.

“Sweet cheese and crackers! Run!”

The officers dodged the incoming attack and darted for the first door they saw. Upon opening it, they found themselves outside and saw two bridges connected them to the other side. Not only that, but four wolves also greeted them. The chainsaw bear was quickly catching up to them, and the officers had to make a decision fast.

“To the other side!” Judy ordered.

She and Nick bolted across the bridge, dodging pass the wolves. They only stopped when their current path lead nowhere. Then the two encountered the leech creatures on the bridge and quickly disposed of them. Hearing the chainsaw, they turned around to see the bear slashing wildly, inadvertently killing the wolves pursuing them. The sight caused Nick to flinch and trip on his footing.

“Wah!” The fox fell backwards into the glass window and ended up breaking into the hallway.

“Nick!” Judy jumped through after her partner and checked on his status.

“I’m okay,” The fox managed to sit before gasping. “Behind you!”

Judy turned around to see the chainsaw bear jumping through the window. She and Nick jumped back and ran to the end of the hall.

“We gotta kill it now before we’re trapped!” Nick cried.

“Then we do it here! Get ready!”

They did a quick check of their ammo before aiming their pistols at the polar bear. A barrage of bullets hit the metal blade of the chainsaw and the creature itself. Finally, the chainsaw fell to the ground, and the corpse of the bear followed. Nick and Judy remained still, taking deep breaths after another brush with death.

A still shaking Nick finally lowered his pistol. “Something tells me that this isn’t even the worse that we’ll see in this mansion.”

Judy followed suit. “My question is how long this has been going on. I would ask where to go next, but all we’ve been doing is following the cries for help.”

As if to prove the rabbit correct, “No!”

Nick couldn’t help but chuckle. “Right on cue.”

The two officers got up and burst through the doors to see a female leopard slowly backing away. The doors opening caught her attention, and upon seeing the officers, she rushed to their safety. With the scientist safe, the officers focused on the threats: another panther and another axe-wielding elk. Nick and Judy neutralized the creatures with shots to the head.

The scientist breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you!” She then reached into her lab coat.

“We’re not hurt,” Judy said. “But we appreciate it anyways.”

“It’s not that.” The leopard brought out a small booklet. “I’m an assistant to the head scientist here, so I know what you’ll be up against. This will help you destroy them.”

“Oh thank you!” Judy took the booklet, and at that moment, her ears perked. “Run!”

A barrel crashes in between the mammals. The scientist ran while the officers looked up to see two lions carry barrels over their heads. At the same time, they heard a window break and looked to see two sloths crashing through the window.

“Oh great! An ambush!” Nick exclaimed.

“Take the lions! I’ll take the sloths!”

Nick nodded and began firing at the lions on the second floor while Judy moved to intercept the sloths. The fox had to dodge the incoming barrels but was able to neutralize the threat. The bunny jumped around to avoid the sloths from getting close. Then when face to face, she allowed them to come close one at a time to allow for headshots.

“Clear!”

“Clear!” Judy then headed for the nearest door. “We can’t stay here!” She entered through, and Nick followed, quickly closing the doors behind them.

“Where is our backup?!” Nick complained. “We won’t make it far if they ambush again!”

“I’m starting to wonder too.” Judy went to grab her radio when her ears shot up.

“Another scientist?” While Nick had no issue rescuing mammals, he was starting to become concerned about their ability to rescue them.

“I think so.”

Nick followed his partner as she honed in the location of the voice. 

Judy finally stopped at a door near a corner and waited for him to catch up. “Check your ammo. It may be a trap.”

“Who did you hear?” Nick loaded a new magazine into the pistol.

She breached the doors to the room, and the officers discovered it was the badger lying on the floor.

“It’s you! I knew it!” Judy said. The rabbit immediately tended to the badger while Nick closed the doors and kept watch. “Ma’am, wake up.”

The badger stirred and opened her eyes. She gasped at the sight of the rabbit and sat up quickly, also seeing the fox guarding the door.

“It’s alright. You’re safe now. Are you hurt?”

The badger began patting her body. “I don’t think so.”

Judy’s radio suddenly came to life, and a loud booming voice echoed throughout the room.

“HOPPS! WHERE ARE YOU?!”

It was enough to cause all three mammals to jump: Nick fumbling with his gun momentarily, and the badger discovering where her injuries were.

Judy fumbled with the radio before responding to her boss. “We’re inside the mansion, sir.”

“I thought I told you to stay put!”

“Sorry, Chief. There were mammals in immediate danger, and we had to intervene.”

The three mammals heard a loud groan emanating from the radio. “Where are you now?”

“I don’t know the exact location, but we are in a room with another scientist. She’s injured and needs to be evacuated.”

Nick then chimed in. “Follow our trail of dead things and rescued scientists. They’ll point the way. Oh, we need ammunition too.”

There was a brief radio silence before Bogo responded. “I’m sending in a team with a package to your location. ETA: five minutes. DO NOT MOVE!”

“Roger Chief.” Judy said.

“Why is it always five or ten minutes?” Nick griped. “Is it a favorite number for rescue forces?”

“We can complain about it later.” Judy turned her attention to the badger. “Can you tell us what happened? What are these things?”

“Experiments.”

“Please don’t tell you used live mammals.” Nick said.

The badger gasped and frantically shook her head and waved her arms. “No! Never! We arrange for the bodies with the city morgue! It’s all carefully regulated!”

“What were you experimenting on?” Judy asked.

“I can’t say. It’s not meant for the public yet.”

“Can you at least explain why these experiments are roaming the mansion and killing everyone?”

“It was Swinton. For some reason, she decided to unleash them without warning the staff.”

“You better hope none of these things escape the property,” Nick said. “Do the other scientists know to keep this a secret?”

“Yes, we all signed a nondisclosure agreement when joining the project.”

“What do you know about Swinton?” Judy asked. “Is she going to cause trouble when we confront her?”

“All I know is that she is obsessed with this project. It was supposed to help mammals. Instead, it slowly drove her insane. We all saw the signs, but never realized the extent of it. The project showed promise which is why we pushed forward. Her last words were, “You shall all DIE!” and then she unleashed the experiments.”

A loud boom sounded from the ceiling, and the three mammals looked up to investigate. The officers noticed the glass ceiling and the broken hole they assumed where the bat creature dropped the badger.

“What was that?” Nick asked, panic slowly rising.

The badger gasped and immediately pushed Judy away from her.

The shocked rabbit stumbled forward onto the crowd and recovered a few moments later. “What?”

A loud crash occurred, and suddenly a gigantic creature fell from the ceiling, right behind the badger. The officers scrambled back in shock while the badger curled into a fetal position to protect herself. The officers only now just registered the gigantic axe the creature wielded.

“Look out!” Nick cried.

But it was too late. The giant creature swung the axe right into the badger. Luckily, none of the sharp edges touched the mammal. But the carnivore soared through the air, letting out a shriek, until slamming into a corner of the room. The officers watched helplessly as the badger landed hard on the floor. The creature’s roar recaptured their attention, finally giving them a chance to determine what stood before them.

The creature wore full armor, making exact species unknown. It then stared down at the officers and began to swing the axe around while stepping towards them. On instinct, the officers unloaded their pistol at the creature, but despite their effort, the bullets bounced off the armor. Their attempt nearly cost them dearly as the creature swung the axe, missing the officers by the skin of their teeth.

An angry Nick growled. “This is just great! He’s bulletproof!”

“Maybe not!” Judy reached into her pocket and pulled out the booklet given to her earlier by the scientist. “It may have information that we need! Can you distract it?”

Nick rolled his eyes. “Why do I always have to be a distraction?” He leaped away from Judy and waved his arms. “Hey, buddy over here!”

“Let’s see…” Judy looks through the pages while checking to see if the creature was attacking her.

Meanwhile, Nick carefully fired shots to keep its attention on him. He allowed the creature to come close while swinging the axes and jumped out of the way at the last second. Sometimes, this led the axe to be stuck in the wall, buying the officers precious time to figure out a weakness and for reinforcements to arrive.

Judy finally found one that matched the appearance. “Chariot: Type 27.” She saw a spot circled on the body that indicated a weak point. “Nick! Can you see a red spot on his chest?”

The fox narrowed his eyes on the location. “I see it!”

“That’s its weakness! Shoot it!”

“My pleasure!” Nick fired off a few shots at the red spot, causing green fluid to leak out, but also causing the Chariot to stumble. “It’s working!”

With the confirmation, Judy joined him and returned fire just as the Chariot recovered and prepared for another attack. This kept going until the creature suddenly began shaking.

“Did we kill it?” Judy asked.

The armor sprung off the creature, revealing a furless unidentified mammal underneath.

“Guess not!” Nick answered. “Boy does that thing look ugly! Where do we shoot now?”

“Everywhere!”

The officers reloaded their pistols and unleashed a barrage of bullets at the now exposed Chariot, tearing away at the muscle and revealing the bone. This kept going until the creature grabbed its head and let out a loud pained groan. Nick and Judy ceased fire and watched as the Chariot fell to the ground. They kept their pistols ready, but the creature did not move.

“Please tell me that it’s dead.” Nick pleaded.

Judy focused her hearing. “I don’t hear anything.”

The officers visibly relaxed and then checked on the badger. Judy placed her paw on her neck.

“How is she?” Nick asked.

That rabbit breathed a sigh of relief when feeling a pulse. “She’s alive, but she won’t survive without treatment.”

Nick growled in frustration. “Argh! That backup better be here soon!”

The doors busted open, and the officers quickly got into a shooting stance, expecting more creatures. Instead, they saw a wolf, a tiger, an elephant, and a rhino in police tactical gear and holding automatic weapons.

Nick threw his paws in the air. “About time you showed up!”

“Just be glad we’re here now,” Fangmeyer said as she and Wolfard carefully approached the corpse of the Chariot. “How’s the civilian?”

Judy joined her partner. “She needs medical attention immediately.”

Wolford nodded and motioned Francine and McHorn. “Get this mammal out of here!”

The large mammals walked over to the injured badger where they brought out a foldable stretcher and carefully moved the badger onto it. They secured the mammal and began to carry her away when the badger stirred.

“Wait.”

Francine and McHorn stopped while Judy moved closer to the badger.

“You must stop Swinton…before something terrible happens.”

“What happens?” Judy asked.

The badger fainted before she could say anything else.

Nick placed a paw on Judy’s shoulder. “She can explain more after being treated. She’s no good to us dead.”

Judy clenched her free paw before relaxing and sighing deeply. “You’re right.”

They watched Francine and McHorn carry the wounded badger away, leaving Judy, Nick, Wolfard, and Fangmeyer alone in the room. The two larger predators finished confirming that the Chariot was indeed dead.

“Where’s Bogo?” Judy asked.

“He’s coordinating with the Rainforest District Precinct.” The tigress said. “He sent us in first to make sure you two didn’t get yourselves killed.”

Wolfard brought out a duffel bag from behind him. “Bogo also wanted you back for a debriefing and to check for injuries but reconsidered because of the circumstances.” The wolf tossed the bag at their feet.

“Get yourselves armed,” Fangmeyer said. “You two lead the way once you’re changed.”

“Thanks.” Nick said.

Wolfard and Fangmeyer exited the room and guarded the door, leaving Nick and Judy alone. The two smaller officers unzipped the bag, revealing two sets of tactical gear, two submachine guns, and multiple magazines for them and their pistols. Nick and Judy first took the tactical gear and went to opposite corners of the room to change. Once in proper protection, the officers grabbed a submachine gun and loaded a magazine. They also grabbed a few more and some for their pistols, keeping the rest in the bag to take with them.

Wolfard and Fangmeyer heard the doors open behind them and turned to see Nick and Judy properly dressed and armed. The two larger predators smiled.

“Ready?” Fangemeyer asked.

Nick smiled as he raised his weapons. “I hope you are.”

Wolfard chuckled. “Knowing you two, I expect no less.”

Judy then took the lead. “Alright mammals, let’s move.”


	2. Revenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to keep a goal of posting a new chapter for any of my stories once a month. This one was the closest to completion.

Footsteps echoed throughout the hall as the four officers pushed forward in pursuit of Swinton. To their surprise, the area was absent of creatures, given the frequent encounters earlier. With the mission to exterminate and rescue, the officers investigated any disturbance. They hoped that either the creatures or the scientists could lead to the source.

Judy suddenly halted in her steps. "Wait!"

The others heard her and stopped too. They turned around to see the rabbit standing before a set of doors, which the others quickly noticed.

"What do you hear, Hopps?" Wolfard asked.

"Contact."

With the confirmation, the four stacked up against the doors: the tigress first, followed by the wolf, then the fox, and finally the rabbit. The mammals gave each other a tap, signaling that they were ready to breach.

Thump!

Thump!

Crack!

The doors broke under the pressure of Fangmeyer's strength. Nick, Judy, and Wolfard stormed in and found a lion carrying a barrel before them, a wolf to their left, and a deer wielding axes to their right.

"I got the lion!" Wolfard exclaimed.

"I'll take the deer!" Nick yelled.

"Leaves the wolf to me then!" Judy shouted.

The three promptly dispatched the creatures as Fangmeyer rejoined them. After scanning the room for threats, the group proceeded to the doors ahead until spotting a hole sealed with a block of wood and chained with a lock.

"There could be survivors." Judy pleaded.

Wolfard shook his head. "Fangmeyer and I are too big."

"Hopps, Wilde," The tigress said. "You can investigate if you wish."

"I'll do it if you will, Carrots."

The rabbit nodded and aimed her weapon at the wood and lock. She blasted them until a hole appeared, proving her suspicions. Judy and Nick stepped back as Fangmeyer and Wolfard took the liberty of inspecting the path for any danger. The moment the larger mammals gazed down the hole, the two heard growls and saw green creatures attempting to climb out.

"Get back!" Wolfard oredred.

The larger predators shot down the hole until the path appeared to be empty. They waited a few moments longer and listened for any more threats. Finally, Wolfard and Fangmeyer deemed the path to be safe.

The tigress then winked at Nick and Judy. "First one's free."

"Keep in touch," Wolfard said. "We'll try to meet up as soon as possible."

The smaller officers nodded and gathered around the hole while the larger officers proceeded through the doors.

Judy entered first and hugged the wall to slow her speed. The path shifted upward slightly, allowing the rabbit a safer descent. She caught sight of a tunnel filled with water and braced herself for the impact. For a moment, the rabbit briefly felt only air as she exited the path before falling into the water. Her gear and preparation only caused minimal damage in the fall. Judy got up and found herself in ankle-deep water. She immediately scanned the area and found no enemies.

"Clear!" The rabbit remained on guard as she waited for her partner. Seconds later, a red fox fell from the ceiling and splashed into the water.

Nick groaned as he stood and shook his fur. "That would have been fun if things aren't trying to kill us." He reached for his radio. "Hopps and I made it."

Fangmeyer responded a second later. "Roger that. Wolfard and I just crossed a bridge and are entering another building. See you soon."

Up ahead, the two officers spotted a carpeted path leading up. However, a swarm of bats blocked the way.

"Are they scientists?" Judy asked.

At that moment, the bats began to charge in their direction. The officers managed to catch a glimpse of their white eyes that erased all doubt.

"Nope!"

The two wasted the bats before the swarm could reach them.

"This is going to be close quarters," Judy said. "Be careful."

"Wish I had a shotgun."

The two cautiously proceeded up the path. But only a couple of steps in, an arm reached out between the officers and tried to make a swipe.

Nick flinched back. "Gah!"

The reaction caused Judy to look back and see the arm retract. The rabbit followed the limb and discovered an opening in the wall where a coyote stood staring at them. Judy fired two shots, and the head blew apart.

She waited to see if anything else would appear. When nothing did after a few seconds, Judy checked on her partner. "You alright, Nick?"

The fox was still in shock but then released a heavy sigh as it wore off. "Yeah, thanks."

Judy nodded, and they continued forward. Thanks to the coyote, the two kept a small space apart to avoid being struck. Up ahead, they saw the path become flat momentarily before resuming the incline, indicating to the officers of possible multiple paths. When Judy reached the break, she felt something hard slam into her.

"Judy!"

Watching his partner disappear from view, Nick rushed forward to the spot and searched for the cause. To his right, he found her on the floor, surrounded by broken pieces of a barrel. To his left, a cougar was lifting another barrel over its head, ready to throw the object at him. Nick promptly killed the creature and was about to check on Judy when two raccoons fell from the ceiling. The fox raised his weapon and became still, waiting for their response. The raccoons began moving in his direction but thankfully at a slow speed. Nick promptly killed the creatures and took a moment to check their surroundings.

Once it was safe, Nick rushed to the rabbit. "Judy?! Are you alright?!"

She groaned while opening her eyes. "Is this how criminals feel when I kick them?"

Nick let out a sigh of relief before chuckling. "Good to see you taking after me."

"Please. Your jokes are still in poor taste." She recovered her weapon and checked for damages. The rabbit then got up and took a few steps, confirming she could still walk without problems.

The two proceeded up the path until reaching a split. The right option continued up while the left had a door.

"Which one should we take?" Nick asked.

"I want to get out of close quarters, but this might be a dead end. There might be survivors, so we need to check."

The fox carefully pushed the door open as the rabbit pointed her weapon forward. They found themselves in a kitchen, and there appeared to be no survivors or creatures. The two did see a door on the other end and decided to investigate.

Nick took a moment to sniff the room. "I smell death in here."

"I don't hear anything."

At that moment, the freezer door slid open, and two wolves appeared. After dispatching them, the officers saw limbless bodies of unidentified mammals hanging from meat hooks in the freezers.

The sight and smell nearly made Nick gag while Judy covered her nose with her paws.

Nick quickly slammed the freezer door shut, the smell lingered. "Either this is a sick joke by Swinton, or the predators here have been feasting on dead bodies."

"I hope the former."

"Help!"

The cry came from the door, and Judy hurried to intervene. Just when she went to breach, the wall next to the rabbit exploded, tossing her to the floor again.

Nick caught sight of the cause: a boar and a warthog carrying a mallet. The two large prey went for Judy, giving Nick the chance to kill them while distracted. He was about to check on his friend when he remembered the mammal on the other side.

Knowing his partner would understand, Nick breached the door and saw a doe deer on the table, trying to scramble away from a black panther. Two goats wielding axes also threatened the scientist on the opposite side of the table. Knowing the goats would use the axes first, Nick dealt with the panther and then the goats just as they began to wind their arms to throw an axe.

The sound of gunfire caused the doe to curl into a fetal position to avoid the shots. She suddenly felt a paw on her shoulder and let out a scream, thinking one of the experiments had got her. But the bite never came, and she carefully rolled over to see a concerned Nick. At that same moment, Judy entered the room and saw her partner and the scientist.

The doe began crying at the feeling of being rescued. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome, Ma'am," Judy said. "It's safe to leave if you hurry."

The scientist nodded and reached into her lab coat. She pulled out a medical kit. "Take this. You might need it."

Nick accepted the item and stored it in the ammo bag. "Thank you."

The officers helped the doe down from the table and watched her leave, trusting she knew where to go.

"Do you need the medkit? You got slammed twice in only minutes."

Judy declined the offer. "Save it for when they bite us. We can take those hits."

Nick nodded as he reached for his radio. "Wolfard, Fangmeyer, where are you?"

The two reloaded their submachine guns while they waited for a response.

The radio came to life just as they cocked their weapons. "Fangs here. Appreciating the arts right now. Too bad these things are trying to destroy them. Where are you?"

Nick smiled, and Judy could only wince from the incoming joke. "In the kitchen serving up dead bodies. Wanna trade?"

The tigress gagged over the radio. "Pass. Keep in touch."

"Roger."

With a new magazine, Nick and Judy proceeded to the doors leading out of the dining room. But they halted only a few steps from the exit when an ominous sound reached their ears: the sounds of a chainsaw. The officers jumped back, barely missing the blade that sliced through the air. Nick and Judy raised their weapons, reading for the creature to appear through the doorway. Unsurprisingly, it was another bear.

Armed with more powerful weapons, the officers were not afraid as they mowed down the bear.

"Nick, check for anything else."

The fox moved ahead and stood next to the door opening, sniffing the air for any creatures. A few moments later, Nick looked back at Judy and nodded. The rabbit led again but was more cautious after being slammed twice. The hallway appeared to be clear of enemies, so the officers continued forward.

"Help!"

The cry came from the door next to them. Nick stepped back and raised his weapon while Judy prepared to breach. Fortunately, the doors were unlocked and only required one kick. The rabbit immediately fell to the ground, and Nick saw a horse carrying a male ocelot. The fox fired at the equine, and as expected, the horse dropped the ocelot. But the feline managed to land on his feet.

"Thank you!" The ocelot reached into his coat and brought out a medical kit. "Please take this as my thanks!"

"We appreciate it," Judy said as Nick stored the medical kit.

BANG!

BANG!

A section of the wall in the corner exploded, causing the ocelot to run off. The officers went to investigate where they discovered in the other room a warthog carrying a mallet, a cheetah, and a hyena. The officers also heard the sounds of fluttering and looked up to see a swarm of bats.

"You get the bats, and I get the rest?" Judy proposed.

"Yep."

Nick rolled into a far corner of the room to give Judy space and himself a better aim. He looked up and saw the swarm beginning to split between him and his partner. The fox annihilated the bats before they could launch their attack.

Meanwhile, Judy kneeled and shot at the warthog first, then the cheetah, and finally the hyena. She squeaked and jumped when dead bats fell around her and turned to glare at Nick.

The fox gave a weak smile and a shoulder shrug. "Heads up?"

The rabbit chose not to reprimand him and took the time to look around the room. "Do you see a way out?

The only path except for the one they came through was above. "Not unless we can fly, or there is another secret passage."

At the mention of the words secret passage, Judy went on alert and started scanning. "Look around you, Nick. If you take away the destroyed wall, do you see any other way in?"

The fox did so and noticed her train of thought. "You're right. So, where would a secret passage be?"

The only object in the room was a bookshelf. Judy thought it might be cliché, but it was their only clue at the moment.

She slung her weapon. "Nick, help me move this."

He slung his too and assisted his partner in moving the bookshelf. It took a few moments, but the officers were able to move the object, revealing a secret passage as suspected. Judy then halted her push, standing with her ears alert.

Nick noticed his partner stopped moving and saw her behavior. "What is it?"

"I hear gunfire."

Nick then realized the same thing as Judy: Wolfard and Fangmeyer were nearby. The two hurried up the passage, worried that their friends might be overwhelmed. As Judy picked up speed, Nick alerted their friends through the radio.

"Check your fire! Check your fire! Approaching your position!"

Nick caught up with Judy as the gunfire grew louder. A few turns later, a pillar appeared at the end of the passage, signaling to them that they were nearing the end. The officers slowed down as the gunfire continued.

Judy alerted their friends. "Hold your fire! Coming up now!"

The gunfire ceased that instant, allowing Nick and Judy to surface. The two first scanned their surroundings for any threats but only found dead creatures and their friends aiming their guns at them. After a moment of clarity, all four lowered their weapons.

"Good to see you again," Nick smirked. "Enjoy the art tour?"

Woflard snorted. "It was a wonderful combination of blood paintings."

Judy gasped as her ears went up and started honing in.

"Do you hear someone?" Fangmeyer asked.

The rabbit approached a door with her weapon raised. "Yes, it's coming from this room. Magazine!"

Nick tossed her a full one while Judy tossed back the used one. The fox and the other officers gathered behind Judy, ready to attack. The rabbit kicked the door open, and the officers charged in. The only signs of movement were leeches on a bed. Wolfard was about to question Judy when she pointed at a bookshelf.

"Someone is hiding! Nick and I will deal with the leeches."

Trusting her intuition, the wolf and the tigress went to move the bookshelf while the fox and the rabbit cleared the bed of pests. Just as Judy suspected, they discovered a female zebra in a secret hiding spot. The herbivore cowered, expecting the experiments to have found her.

Fangmeyer slung her weapon and offered a paw. "It's okay. You're safe now."

The zebra snapped her head up upon hearing a voice and saw mammals in police gear. "Oh thank you!" She accepted the tigress' paw, and Fangmeyer guided her out. The zebra then offered the officers her medical kit. "Please take this. You must have gotten hurt rescuing me."

Wolfard accepted the item. "You're welcome, Miss. We need to keep moving, but other officers are combing the place as we speak. Are you able to find your way out?"

The zebra nodded. "Yes. Now go save the others."

At that moment, a chainsaw revved up and sliced through a door at the other side of the room. The broken door fell and revealed a black bear.

Fangmeyer instantly raised her weapon. "Get down!" The others dove by the bed as the tigress fired half of the magazine into the black bear. The remains of the carnivore and the chainsaw fell to the floor. "I hate these chainsaw monsters. They eat up bullets."

With the threat neutralized, the others regroup with Fangmeyer.

"If we see a hippo, elephant, or a rhino," Nick remarked. "Those things will be bullet sponges."

"I would be surprised if we didn't, given our encounters so far," Wolfard said.

"We should take turns then." Judy proposed.

"I like that idea." Fangmeyer replaced her magazine with a full one. "We should be able to get out through the broken doors."

Judy moved to the doorway and listened in. "I don't hear anyone alive."

"There might be creatures in the next room," Fangmeyer moved up to take point. "I'll check it out." The tigress snapped into the next room with her weapon drawn. She saw more leeches on a bed but also heard thumping coming from the bookshelf. The tigress first dealt with the leeches before calling her friends. "Behind the bookshelf!"

The others joined her and also heard the noises.

"It's a creature," Nick said. "A scientist would be crying for help. Should we bother?"

"It could break free and hurt someone if we don't," Judy said. "I'm not taking that risk."

"Alright," Wolfard raised his weapon. "Fangs and I got this."

The tigress nodded as she slung her weapons and walked to the bookshelf. She looked to the wolf, who nodded that he was ready. Fangmeyer pulled until the bookshelf started moving under her strength. She managed to pull it down and jumped out of the way. Just as suspected, a cougar creature stood in the hiding spot. Wolfard dispatched the feline before it had a chance to attack.

"Clear!"

The four regrouped and proceeded out of the room, finding themselves outside the building and high above the ground. A bridge connected their building to the next. A fox then came running out of the second building, being chased by a polar bear wielding a chainsaw.

"Carrots and I got this!"

The bear chasing the fox gave the officers a clear view of the head, so they wasted only a few bullets. The other fox ducked upon hearing the gunfire and only got up when they ceased. He saw his rescuers and thanked them before continuing his escape. The four lined up by the door where the bear and the fox came out of in order of size from small to large.

"Check your weapons and ammo," Judy said. "We go on my signal."

They spent a few moments reloading their weapons before tapping on their shoulders. Judy stood in front of the door and kicked it in. The four entered and began scanning the immediate area. But they stopped when seeing the contents. Numerous tanks housing the creatures dotted the room. Some were furless and unidentified. Others had their species identified.

"Okay, this is some sci-fi level stuff," Nick said.

"What in the world are they doing here?" Fangmeyer asked.

"Mutations? Hybrids?" Wolfard proposed. "Those are my guesses."

"We'll find out more once we capture Swinton," Judy said. "First, how are we going to get across?"

Indeed, a gap existed between their platform and the one across from them. The officers looked down and saw that it was a drop from their position. But they rather find a safe way down in case of an ambush. The only clue was a blue arrow on a console that pointed down.

"Maybe we can cross if we get it to point up?" Wolfard asked.

"Yeah, but how?" Judy asked.

Nick aimed his gun at the console. "There's one option."

"Are you crazy?!" Fangmeyer cried. "You'll destroy it, and then we have to jump down."

"I have a feeling that's not the case." Nick fired three shots at the console, and miraculously, the blue arrow pointed up.

At that moment, a mechanical noise reached their ears, and then a bridge ascended to connect both platforms.

"Clever fox." Judy complimented.

"Thank you."

The four proceeded across the bridge but became mesmerized by the two furless creatures in the tank. Were they meant to grow into their respective species? Or were they meant to be an entirely new one? Caught up in their curiosity, they reacted too late as the creatures came to life and crashed through what was supposed to be strong glass. They landed on Wolfard and Fangmeyer, causing them to lose possession of their weapons. The larger predators also shrieked in pain as the furless creatures bit their shoulders and arms.

"Hang on!" Judy shouted.

The rabbit went to the tigress, and the fox went to the wolf. The two large predators managed to grab their attacker's neck and raise it in the air for the kill. The two smaller officers fired two shots and killed the furless creatures. Wolfard and Fangmeyer pushed off the corpses and recovered their weapons.

"Thanks," The tigress said, disappointed with herself and her friend. "That was sloppy of us."

Nick reached into the ammo bag and brought out two medical kits. "Good thing we have these!"

"Thanks," Wolfard said as he and Fangmeyer took the items and began treating their wounds. "Don't tell Bogo, or he'll have our tails."

Nick chuckled. "Oh, believe us. Carrots and I have had our fair share of sloppy moments."

The four lined up against the door leading out of the room on either side. This time, Nick carefully opened the door with the barrel pointed ahead. It was an empty hallway.

"Clear."

The rabbit entered first, followed by Nick, then Wolfard, and finally Fangmeyer. The four moved cautiously, ready for any ambush, until they reached the end of the hall with another door. They lined up again and repeated the procedure, this time Wolfard opening the door. It led into another hallway, but as they were about to enter, two sloths came down from above.

Wolfard jumped back to avoid the attack as one of the sloths slammed into the wall, accidentally crushing its head and killing itself. The other sloth appeared and turned its sights on the wolf.

"Get out of there, Wolfie!" Nick yelled as he and the girls raised their weapons.

They hoped the wolf would get away from the crossfire but prepared for the worst. The second sloth launched itself at Wolfard, but he managed to kick the creature away at the last second and dive into the hallway. With their fellow officer out of immediate danger, Nick and the girls killed the sloth and joined their friend.

"Clear!" Judy yelled. "You alright, Wolfard?"

The wolf groaned while getting up. "I don't know what's worse: these sloths or the ones at the DMV."

"Pick your poison," Nick said. "Do you want one that kills your sanity or one that kills you literally?"

"At least we can shoot these," Fangmeyer said.

"Hey, cut the chatter!" Judy interjected. "I hear mammals!"

The rabbit rushed forward to the door at the end of the hall, and the others quickly followed. Upon breaching the door, the group discovered a large room with various equipment and, curiously, a water hole. But creatures also littered the room. Judy could see a female rabbit being cornered by a boar at the far end.

"There!"

"Go rescue the mammal!" Fangmeyer yelled. "Wolfard and I will cover you."

Nick and Judy sprinted through the creatures as they tried to attack them. Two otters attempted to ambush them from the nearby water hole but failed to even catch their tails. Meanwhile, Wolfard and Fangmeyer spread out and neutralized the creatures, clearing the way for their friends.

Nick and Judy arrived just when the boar was about to attack and killed the creature with shots to the head. But Nick then noticed a beaver cornering a raccoon. He immediately leaped into action and killed the beaver before it got close.

The rabbit had curled up and covered her ears when hearing the gunfire. When they stopped, she lifted her head to see Judy standing a few feet away from the boar. The scientists started to tear up and launched herself at Judy, wrapping her in a tight hug. "Thank you!"

Judy reciprocated the hug and petted her. "You're welcome."

The raccoon also had flipped onto his stomach from hearing gunfire. When it stopped, he slowly raised his head and saw Nick aiming his gun in the direction of his attacker. The raccoon looked behind him and saw the corpse of the beaver. Relieved, the scientist got on his feet. "Thank you!" He pointed to the ladder by his rabbit colleague and Judy. "There's more upstairs. Please hurry!"

Nick nodded, and the raccoon went to retrieve the rabbit scientist and made their escape together. The two scientists also thanked Fangmeyer and Wolfard as they exited the room.

"The raccoon said more are up the ladder," Nick said as he reloaded his gun and tossed a new one to Judy.

"Then we better hurry." The rabbit caught the new one and tossed the used one to him. "I'll go first."

Wolfard and Fangmeyer did the same and lined up behind Nick as Judy slung her weapon and climbed the ladder.

It led to an outdoor balcony, but the rabbit saw no one around. A pair of cries from above caught her attention. She looked up and gasped at the horrifying sight. It was the bat creature that had kitnapped the badger earlier. Only this, multiple regular size bats were flying around it, shielding the creature. And this time, the bat was holding a deer and a wolf in its claws.

"Get up here!" She hurried onto the balcony and moved a few steps away from the ladder.

Hearing her cries, Nick, Wolfard, and Fangmeyer scrambled up the ladder. On the balcony, they saw Judy aiming her weapon at the sky and followed her gaze. They too gasped at the sight of the giant bat.

"You!" Nick cried.

The bat gave off an evil chuckle. "This is as far as you go! I'll finish you here!"

At that moment, the creature released the wolf and the deer. The two scientists cried out as they fell.

"NO!" Judy ran for the rails and could only helplessly watch as the scientists met their end.

The rabbit felt a paw on her shoulder and was pulled back.

"Focus Hopps!" Nick yelled. "Find out its weakness. We'll cover you."

The fox, the wolf, and the tigress formed a shield around the rabbit as the large bat began sending the smaller ones to attack. The sound of gunfire and bats dying were enough to shake Judy out of her shock. She scrambled to find the booklet, checking every pocket. Once she found it, the rabbit began turning through the pages as her fellow officers warded off the attacks.

"Hurry up!" Wolfard cried. "It's running out of bats to send!"

The rabbit fumbled through the pages and dropped the booklet a few times, cursing herself in the process. After agonizing and frustrating moments, Judy finally found the page on the creature. "Hangedmammal: Type 041." She followed the line drawn to indicate the weak point and became surprised. "Everything! Its whole body has no protection!"

Fangmeyer smiled, baring her teeth in the process. "That's good news for us! Wolfard and I will attack the giant bat. You two focus on the little ones."

Judy put the booklet away and moved out of the circle to bring down the Hangedmammal and avenge the fallen scientists. Soon, all the small bats were killed, and the Hangedmammal shifted tactics. The giant bat began flying in a swift and erratic flying pattern. Despite the barrage of bullets, the creature swooped in for a strike. The officers jumped out of the way as the creature flew up. The tactic didn't deter the officers and gave them time to reload.

"Stick together!" Wolfard exclaimed. "It's trying to separate us!"

The four quickly regrouped and resumed firing. The Hangedmammal repeated the tactic, but this time the officers were prepared. The bat sustained serious injuries, and the process kept repeating. The four began to think the creature was not intelligent enough to change tactics when the bat suddenly flew straight into the air. Unfortunately, it disappeared over the building.

"Coward," Nick griped. "That's the second time it fled."

"Are you sure?" Fangmeyer asked. "It could try a surprise attack."

"I don't want to stick around to find out," Judy said. "Keep moving."

The four took the opportunity to reload their weapons before moving on. They followed the balcony to the far end and turned the corner to continue. Nick and Judy slowly moved ahead of Wolfard and Fangmeyere. Suddenly, the sound of a familiar chuckle reached their ears and caused them to halt.

"Hopps! Wilde!" Wolfard cried.

On instinct, the two officers looked up and saw the Hangedmammal charging at them. They raised their guns to fire, but it was too late.

"AAAHHHH!"

Nick and Judy felt the impact as they went over the rail. The two tumbled down the roof but managed to stabilize their fall and began grasping at the roof tiles. At the last second, the two grabbed the ledge just as they went over the edge.

"Hopps! Wilde!" Wolfard cried.

Nick waved with his free paw. "Focus on the bat. We'll do what we can from here!"

Trusting their word, Wolfard and Fangmeyer focused on taking down the Hangedmammal before it could finish the job. With one of their paws occupied, Nick and Judy resorted to their pistols. Just as they hoped, the bat focused on causing Nick and Judy to fall.

"Climb!" Nick shouted. "I'll cover you!"

Judy vehemently shook her head. "Not until we're safe!"

With the looming threat, Nick didn't have time to complain, grumbling as he and Judy turned their attention to the Hangedmammal. Soon, the pistols became empty, so the smaller officers shifted their focus on climbing back to safety. Just as they returned the pistols to their holsters, the two heard the Hangedmammal shriek.

They turned around just in time to see the bat flailing as it fell to its death. The two flinched at the sound of impact. Footsteps were heard approaching, and they turned to see Wolfard kneeling on the roof and grabbing their arms. Once on safe ground, the three moved a short distance away from the edge, stopping by one of the windows. Wolfard then joined Fangmeyer to avoid having their weight cause the roof to collapse.

"You two okay?" Wolfard asked.

Nick was breathing heavily over the experience. "Yeah, nothing like almost falling to your death to get the adrenaline running!"

Fangmeyer shook her head. "Always a good sign to hear you cracking jokes."

After Nick and Judy reloaded their weapons, the rabbit then gasped, and her ears perked, swiveling in the direction of the nearby window.

"You hear something Carrots?"

The rabbit stopped at the window and put an ear against it. "Probably more of those things." Judy then turned back to Wolfard and Fangmeyer. "Do you two see another way?"

The two predators took a few moments to scan the areas, walking the remaining unexplored portions, before returning to Nick and Judy.

The wolf shook his head. "Nothing. What do you have in mind?"

Judy pointed to the window. "We make our own way forward. The window is big enough for all of us."

"Great, but unless you want to collapse the roof, you and Wilde enter first," Fangmeyer said. "Wolfard will go next, and then I will follow."

"Sounds like a plan," Nick said.

He and Judy carefully stood in front of the window: the rabbit in front and the fox behind her. Nick looked back at Wolfard and Fangmeyer, and the two nodded. He then tapped Judy on the shoulder and raised his submachine gun.

CRASH!


End file.
